Time: Thu May 22 00:01:01 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id XAA27465; Wed, 21 May 1997 23:42:55 -0700 (MST) by usr06.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id XAA12079; Wed, 21 May 1997 23:42:44 -0700 (MST) Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 23:44:34 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: "Collapse of America," by Linda Bowles <snip> > >>Collapse of America >>by LINDA BOWLES >> >> May 21, 1997 >> >>It has become fashionable to predict the collapse of America based on >>the study of historic models. One popular model is religious, another >>favorite is secular. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission >>has just made it much easier for eschatologists of all stripes to >>make the case that the trumpet of doom may be heard in the distance. >>The EEOC has just expanded the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 >>to include the mentally ill. >> >>Employers must now "accommodate" people with "sick" minds. When Jesus >>was asked by his disciples how they would know the end was near, He >>did not specifically mention the EEOC. But He did speak of a time of >>extreme social disarray, moral confusion and political despotism. >>There is no question that the EEOC ruling strengthens the hand of >>those who believe the end is near. However, I will not dwell on the >>religious model. It involves the end of the entire world, and, while >>that is important, my operative theory is that America as we know it >>will be history long before the end of time arrives. The secular model >>involves ominous parallels between ancient Rome and modern America. >> >>In 1944, the popular historian Will Durant put us on notice when he >>wrote: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it >>has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline >>lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, >>her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars." >>Just substitute America for Rome in reading this and you have to >>concede that we suffer from a number of the symptoms of decline >>identified by Durant. It should be clear that the EEOC proclamation is >>an example of "bureaucratic despotism." It is more than that. It is an >>example of bureaucratic insanity likely to make of the workplace more >>of an unmanageable madhouse than it already is. >> >>The new rules cover not only people with mild neurotic conditions but >>also those with full-blown psychotic dysfunctions, including >>schizophrenia, paranoia and manic-depression. This is nuts! If the >>employer does not properly "accommodate" the mentally ill when he >>hires, promotes, pays, assigns work and terminates employment, he runs >>the risk of being legally harassed and hauled into court to try to >>explain himself. He could be put out of business by lawyers >>specializing in defending the rights of the psychologically challenged. >>Weirdly, the new guidelines forbid employers to ask potential hires if >>they have a history of mental impairment. >> >>They may not ask employees who are known to be mentally disturbed if >>they have taken their medication. And they may not discuss with other >>workers why certain employees are given special treatment -- including >>job tutoring, extra time off, sound-proof work stations, special >>parking places and dispensation for disruptive and offensive behavior >>that would not be tolerated in others. The EEOC has a standard of >>expectation that minorities and women will be randomly distributed in >>all jobs. Will businesses now be expected to have a similar >>distribution of the mentally ill in all jobs? Will confused employers >>keep token crazies around just to convince the EEOC Gestapo that they >>have good intentions? >> >>The greater problem will involve definition. Just what is a mental >>illness? Is alcoholism a mental illness? Will debilitating addictions >>to sex or cigarettes qualify for mandated understanding? How about the >>chronic fear of work, the compulsion to cross dress, the irrepressible >>need to carry and publicly fondle guns, and the irrational belief >>that soap and water are tools of Satan? Surely, not even a >>cold-hearted, conservative capitalist or a sour-souled, liberal >>socialist would dare argue that the full protection of the law does >>not extend to those who suffer from these regrettable, possibly >>genetically determined disorders. But how will they be "accommodated" >>on the job? >> >>For example, what will the employer do if confronted by an employee >>who complains that his emotional stress and suicidal tendencies can >>only be controlled with medicinal marijuana? Will employees with >>emotional disorders be left in jobs with the potential to cause >>accidents, damage the environment, destroy property and inflict harm >>upon themselves and others? Even an employer with Solomon skills will >>not be able to make decisions that will protect his business against >>ruinous lawsuits. The redefinition of all business as being in the >>public domain and hence subject to the total control of government >>bureaucrats is essentially complete. >> >>The Constitution has been abandoned. We now operate under the >>socialistic philosophy that any perceived need in the workplace >>warrants micro-management by the state. Employees are increasingly >>seen as potential liabilities. An ever expanding set of "rights" to >>bring lawsuits has made every personnel action from hiring to firing >>a legal minefield. No wonder harried executives daydream of automated >>factories and plants in Mexico. > <snip> ======================================================================== Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S. : Counselor at Law, federal witness email: [address in tool bar] : Eudora Pro 3.0.1 on Intel 586 CPU web site: http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this ========================================================================
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